Josh looked at the alarm clock as he rolled out of bed. It was just after 8 in the morning, and Watanabe's dad had said that Kenji was expecting them at 730. If they hurried, they'd only be an hour late. "Watanabe, wake up" he said as he shook the other boy awake. "We're already late and its only our first day."
"Shit, what time is it?" Watanabe asked.
"5 after 8. If we hurry, we can make it there by 830. Let's get going." The two rushed to get dressed and out the door, speeding through traffic on the way to store Kaemon's friend owned. The pulled in at 830 on the day, and ran inside to greet their new boss.
"You boys are late," the man behind the counter said, a hint of boredom in his voice.
"Sorry Mr. Yamazaki. We overslept," Watanabe replied, hoping that this slip up didn't cost them their new jobs.
"No worries. I heard about what went on up the mountain last night." Looking at Josh, he asked "Are you really the boy who kept up with the famous Keisuke Takahashi?"
"Well, it wasn't so much that as I didn't know what was going on until the end. And I don't think I so much kept up as copied him," Josh replied, a little abashed at finding out word had spread already of last night's battle.
"Well, after an event like that, the excitement was sure to make you guys sleep in. Just don't let it happen too often and we'll be fine. There's a box in the back, I want you to take it to a tofu shop in the Green Market district. The recipients name is Bunta Fujiwara. While you're there, grab yourselves a bite to eat on me, because I know you guys didn't have time for breakfast. And bring me back some fried tofu." He handed the boys a fold of bills and watched as they left. 'Damn, for a kid that young to keep up with Takahashi like that, it must have really been something to see. I just hope he doesn't let it get to his head.'
The two put the box in the back seat of their car and left the store. The only thing they could think about on the way there was why the owner of a tofu store needed sports grade suspension parts.
A little under an hour later, they pulled up to the Fujiwara Tofu shop. Tucked away in a side alley, they spotted an old Toyota Sprinter Trueno. The two walked up and looked at it, because that was one of the cars Watanabe had recommended for Josh to buy.
"Looking at my hatchi-roku?" a voice from behind asked.
"Yes sir," Josh answered, turning around. "The hatchi-roku was one of the cars I was interested in buying when I moved here."
"I love the hatchi-roku. Even though it's getting too old for me to find good parts for. Speaking of which, I think you guys have a package for me? Kenji called ahead and told me to expect two boys driving a Fairlady to come with the suspension package I ordered."
"Yes sir. We'll get it right out for you." He and Watanabe got the boxes out of the back of the Z and brought them into the shop. Inside, the man was sitting on a stool beside a large sink, cutting tofu and getting it ready for his customers. "Where would you like it?"
"Right here behind the counter. Kenji also said you guys would be getting some food. What would you like?"
"Uh, some fried tofu and some bean paste if you have it would be nice."
"Ok, no problem. Want some rice with that?"
"Yes, thank you."
Bunta went about preparing the food for them and sat down to eat with them when he was done. "So, tell me Josh, of all cars on the market, why the Fairlady?"
"Well, sir, it was the only car in our area that I could afford. Watanabe's father agreed to pay the rest of it, but I still couldn't find that many cars in good condition in my price range. If you don't mind me asking sir, are the suspension parts for the hatchi-roku, or are they for a project car you have on the side?"
"The parts are for the hatchi-roku. My son drives the car in morning to take tofu to the hotel at the top of Mt. Akina. He usually speeds back pretty fast, and it's been horrible on the suspension. Not that he's a bad driver, but the package I had in it before was defective, and had been sold to me by a shop that's now out of business. Luckily, Kenji got his hands on the parts I needed."
"Ah. Your son makes the deliveries? Takumi?" Watanabe asked. He had known the boy since the two were in middle-school.
"Yes, you know him?"
"Well, we're not friends or anything, but we went to the same school. That is, until I graduated last year."
"Yeah, Takumi's been doing the deliveries for the last couple of years."
"How is that possible, he just turned 18 this year?"
"Heh, heh. Well, Mt. Akina's virtually abandoned during the early hours of the morning, so after a couple of driving lessons, I had him take the deliveries himself. At first, he was incredibly slow, but as time progressed, he became faster and faster. Now he can make the delivery and be back in time to have a nap before school."
"My driving education was sort of the same way," Josh interrupted. "My dad was a mail man in the state I come from. See, where I'm from, we use our own cars to deliver mail. He was delivering mail and working at the factory, so he had me take the mail for him in the mornings so he could sleep. After a year or so of doing that, I got in the habit of making it home as fast as possible so I didn't fall asleep during classes."
"Delivery boys make the best street racers, in my opinion," Bunta said. "Takumi doesn't know it yet, but he's going to make a good driver on the touge someday. That is, if he ever builds up the desire to beat other people. As of now, it's all about getting home in time to get more sleep before school. Speaking of racing, I heard you went against Keisuke Takahashi."
"Well, it wasn't really a race. He was racing another driver from Mt. Arafune. I just happened to trance out and catch up to them. By the time the race was over, I had passed Goro and was behind Keisuke. I couldn't keep up very well, but it was apparently good enough to catch his older brother's eye. To tell the truth, I didn't even know I was driving. I just sort of went out of myself for a while."
"The best driver's do that at first," Bunta said. "The trick is to learn to stay conscious of your surroundings so you can pick up what's going on. You'll start to notice that you're not driving as someone else, but rather from instinct."
"I see." Musing over what Bunta had told him, Josh took a moment to look at his watch. "Well, we've finished eating, so we'd better get back to the shop. I'm sure Mr. Yamazaki has some more packages he needs dropped off. By the way, Mr. Fujiwara, he said to get him an order of fried tofu."
"I know. I've had it in a bag since I made your lunch. Here you go." He handed them the tofu, and the too boys went about their business. 'The boy has talent. It's just up to him now to capitalize it. If he does, he could easily become the fastest downhill driver on Arafune. He might even be able to compete against the better drivers on some of the other mountains in Gunma. But only with practice,' Bunta thought to himself as the two drove off. With a grunt, he got back to preparing tofu for other deliveries.
A/N: Not much, but as I said last chapter, I'd go a little more in depth into Josh's past. Next chapter will probably see him calling Ryousuke and the two arranging a practice session.
